Fiberglass Slipper
by Starshone
Summary: Jenrya breaks his arm in an attempt to climb a tree onehanded. Drama ensues, as well as several Digimon card battles lovingly based off the Pokemon TCG. Now with the right fic! How embarassing. JenxRyo, RyoxRuki, TakatoxJuri, and, weirdly enough, KaixJen.
1. Mid April Showers

When Jenrya was Shuichon's age, he fell off a swing in the park and broke his right wrist. Jaarin and Rinchei had little sympathy for his plight, so he taught himself how to do everything one-handed.

In retrospective, climbing a tree one-handed was possibly not such a good idea.

"This is the last time you decide to have a picnic up a tree," Jenrya informs Ryo, gingerly supporting his arm (the right again, _damn_).

The older boy swallows what Jenrya thinks was going to be another "_fuck_" and ignores the scattered contents of the picnic basket. "I could have carried that—"

"But you didn't," replies Jenrya wearily, "and there's nothing we can really do about it now."

But Ryo's already trying to do something, ripping off part of his shirt (Jenrya tries not to stare at the suddenly exposed skin) and making for Jenrya's arm with it before— "Jen. You're bleeding."

"So I am," says Jenrya, loud enough to cover Ryo's "_fuck_" but still conversational. "You have a cellphone, you know."

"Left it at home," Ryo apologizes (Jenrya is getting rather sick of this tone), "yours?"

"Right pocket. Vest, not pants; you're really picking your moment to grope me, aren't you? And stop apologizing," he adds, before Ryo's mouth takes after the sheer panic in his eyes that screams 'sorry!' or possibly '_fuck_'.

Ryo stabs the emergency number, and panics into the phone. "Ambulance! Shinjuku Central Park, West Shinjuku. My b— _friend_ broke his arm, he's bleeding, and the radius is poking through, and— he fell down a tree! He was climbing it and carrying a picnic basket and— by the stream. Er, northeastern quarter."

The 'b—' does not go unnoticed for Jenrya, and he dwells on the hesitation for a moment before his mind jumps to the next point of information – his bone is poking through? Ryo knows what bone it is? No, back to the bone. It's poking through his skin. That would probably be why it hurts so much.

He feels kind of bad when Ryo rattles off his cellphone number without hesitation or error. The only reason he can ring or txt Ryo is his contacts list.

"Yeah, this is his phone. Ummm, half Chinese, indigo hair, orange vest, black shirt— me? Brown hair, red sweater— Ryo, Akiyama Ryo, yeah, from the _Digimon_ games. Jenrya, Lee Jenrya," Ryo glances at Jenrya, who watches him in return, "my boyfriend."

"You said it," remarks Jenrya in surprise, and blacks out.

-

"It feels like old times again," Jenrya comments, when Ryo, Takato, Ruki, Juri, Hirokazu, Kenta, and nearly everyone's partners (only Renamon is missing, which really isn't much of a surprise) are all crowding into his room to ogle his cast.

"Except for the whole broken arm thing." replies Takato. "Here."

He shoves a basket and envelope at him. Terriermon peeks inside the basket and takes charge of it.

"Er, thanks," Jenrya responds, taking the envelope and opening it.

_**Jenrya,**_

_**Ryo told us what happened. The moral of the story is, don't climb trees while carrying a picnic basket! Really, Jenrya, that sounds more like something **__**I**__** would do, I would have thought you'd be more sensible than that.**_

_**I figured you're not a flowers type, so I brought you some bread. Try not to let Terriermon eat too much of it.**_

_**Takato**_

_**PS: Get well soon!**_

_**Juri**_

"I only had one!" Terriermon protests, when Jenrya raises an eyebrow at him.

"And a half," corrects Ryo, with a grin. Then he continues scrawling on his cast.

_**Hurry up and heal!**_

_**Akiyama Ryo**_

_**(and when you do, auction this autograph off on eBay)**_

"Good," says Jenrya, turning his attention on him, "you've stopped apologizing. It was unbecoming."

Ruki snorts.

Kenta merely looks skeptical. "How long did he babble apologies at you in hospital?"

"Half an hour," Terriermon replies, blatantly passing a roll to a delighted Guilmon, "I had to threaten him with sedation."

Jenrya notes the cards going back and forth between Ruki and Ryo. "Ruki, stop ripping off Ryo while he's distracted by my cast." She has the good grace to look at least slightly sorry, so he turns back to Ryo. "Were you right about the radius?"

"Of course," Ryo scoffs. "I'm good at PE."

Jenrya allows himself a moment to picture the older boy in PE shorts.

Ruki pulls him from his reverie, grabbing the pen off Ryo and making for his cast with it. "What, because it doesn't take any brains?"

_**Get well soon and no I am not giving Ryo's cards back :)**_

_**R**_

"Shut up, Ruki, I'm _brilliant_ at physics." Ryo steals a glance at Jenrya. "_And_ chemistry."

He's not joking, but Jenrya hopes everyone thinks he's just talking about science.

Ruki's phone is a great distraction. After 'kazu's obligatory mockery of her ring tone ("Koda Kumi, Ruki? _Really_?"), which she still insists her mother reprogrammed, she reads the txt message and wrinkles her nose. "Sorry, I have to go see a kabuki play with my grandma."

"_Kajinch__ō_?" asks Takato. Ruki nods. "What a weird coincidence, we were going to see that too."

"Oh, joy."

"Pass the pen?" says 'kazu.

_**HIROKAZU WAS HERE**_

"Beautiful," Kenta declares it, unconvinced. "My turn."

_**Kenta rocks!**_

Juri spins in Jenrya's computer chair and looks at the clock onscreen. "Takato, we're running a bit late."

"Sorry, we've gotta go," Takato apologizes. "Guilmon, go back to the park, okay?"

Terriermon glances between Jenrya and Ryo. "Do you want me to go with him?"

Jenrya replies without thinking. "Okay."

Looking at the older boy, Terriermon regards him warily, then hops onto Guilmon's head. "Uh-huh. Don't go breaking his other arm or anything."

Ryo smiles. "Momentai, Te."

Jenrya's mother appears in the doorway. "Kenta, your mother's here."

They can hear her yelling from the front door. "Kenta, remember, you had to clean out the hamster cage today!"

"Darn, I forgot about that," complains Kenta. "Kazu, you coming?"

"Sure, you know I love Zeromaru."

"I can't believe you named your hamster Zero," Ryo groans.

"It's a _great_ name for a hamster!" Kenta protests. Marine Angemon giggles.

All too soon, the other Tamers are leaving the apartment, Takato screeching, "See you tomorrow!"

Ryo watches the Digimon file out the door, then eyes Jenrya. "Right. Just the two of us."

"Like the last time we were alone together?" Jenrya teases, then regrets it when Ryo glances at his cast with a wince.

"Jen, I know you said no more apologies, but if there's _anything_ I can do to make it up to you..."

"Oh, I can think of something."

His tone is deceptively light, but Ryo translates it correctly, nodding at him and closing the door. Then he's at his side, a hand cupping his face. He smells like sweat and sand, and when Ryo kisses him, he tastes like Odaiba in the fall. It's a soft kiss, uncharacteristic of him, one that whispers 'I'm sorry', and Jenrya tries to tell him without words that it's okay, smiling into his mouth and pulling him closer with his good arm. He gets the message and deepens the kiss and accidentally bumps his teeth into Jenrya's, making him laugh, but he swallows Jenrya's laughter and by the time he pulls away, they're both panting.

"The paramedics asked me," Ryo murmurs, "the phone operator told them you're my— what I'd said about you, and they asked me if we're," he averts his gaze, a faint blush further staining his already flushed cheeks, "_sexually active_, and could I have given you anything, or are you HIV positive."

Jenrya's stomach lurches at the thought of being 'sexually active' with Ryo. He tries not to let his reddening face detract from what he hopes is a calm tone. "And what did you tell them?"

The look on Ryo's face says 'you're insane'. "The truth: We're not." He hesitates, and then: "Would you like to be?"

Jenrya's stomach trips and falls over. Against his will, his brain cycles through sex ed classes and how to put a condom on a banana and the importance of asking your sexual partners whether they have ever had any sexually transmitted diseases or HIV. Purely as a way to make it stop, he blurts out, "Ask me again when my arm isn't covered in plaster."

"Fiberglass," Ryo corrects him reflexively, then, "Alright."

And then they're kissing again and not talking and it's all good.

-

"I don't get it. A mountain in Canada?"

"Good, that means no one else will get it. I can't draw leaves, alright?"

"The evidence suggests you _can_ draw leaves, but only maple leaves."

"Look, it's my name."

"...I should call you Rocky?"

"Akiyama. Break it down into 'aki' and 'yama' and it means 'autumn mountain'."

"Still looks like a maple leaf."

"Shut up."

"Make me. Mm, I didn't _really_ mean..."

"I think you did."

"Lower, I can't cover tha—ow. No, that's good."

"Don't you ever stop talking?"

"Not often. So, what does Ryo mean?"

"Distant. I drew the whole thing small."

"Funny. Hey, what are you adding now?"

"Oh, I get it. Akiyama Ryo loves Jian. That's sweet."

"You know I do, right?"

"Guess I do now."

-

The next day, Takato searches for a free spot on Jenrya's cast. "Sorry I couldn't sign yesterday. Oh, what's this? Ryo loves you, cute."

"Damn," says Jenrya, impressed, "that was meant to be all symbolic and artsy."

"You forget I do art. Aha." Takato picks up a marker. "Terriermon, look this way?"

"Hey, pretty decent," Terriermon approves. "But did you have to sign it on my ears?"

"Yeah. How else are people gonna know I drew it?"

"Gee, I don't know; maybe with a big fat 'BY MATSUDA TAKATO' underneath it?" suggests the child.

Takato considers this, surveying the cast. "It's tempting, but Shuichon drew so much on it there's not enough room."

"I just couldn't keep the pen away from her," Jenrya sighs. "'kazu's signature is pretty big as well."

-

Jenrya has Terriermon dial then hold the phone for him. It's not like he's particularly crippled, he just figures he'll take advantage of the sympathy while he can, and Terriermon is remarkably lenient on that sort of thing. "Ruki, favor?"

"_What?_"

"Thanks to the whole arm thing, my parents now don't trust Ryo alone with me outside the house, and insist I have to have at least one other person around."

"_You still haven't told them you're going out, have you?_"

"That's not the point."

"_Why do _I_ have to be your third wheel, I thought _Takato_ was your 'best friend'._"

"I fear Takato is lost to us all forever," Jenrya sighs. "Hey, who's _your_ best friend, Ru?"

Ruki is silent. Jenrya suspects it's him. "_When's he coming up?_"

"That's not an answer," he replies sweetly. "Next Saturday, eleven. Meet you at the station?"

"_Whatever._" But she sounds kind of pleased.


	2. Bring May Flowers

Shinjuku Station is busy today, forcing Jenrya and Ruki to crowd together to avoid being separated. When the train arrives, Jenrya sees Ryo before he sees them. "Ryo!"

The older boy waves, and makes his way to them. "Hey, Cinderella." They're invisible in the swarm of people. He drops a kiss on top of Jenrya's head, then spots Ruki. "What are you doing here, Wildcat?"

"What kind of nickname is Cinderella?" Ruki asks, ignoring the question.

Ryo's logic is baffling: "Broken arm, cast, the cast is made of fiberglass, break that down to glass, glass slipper, Cinderella." He directs his inquiry to Jenrya instead. "Why's she here?"

Jenrya takes his hand, and they begin to push their way off the platform. "After the picnic, Mom and Dad don't trust you alone with me outside the house, so I have to have at least one other person with me. And they did specify person, not Digimon."

"They're scared I'll rape you?"

"Keep the jokes PG, please," Jenrya replies, noticing Ruki flush and turn up the music on her headphones. "No, just break my other arm."

"Actually I was thinking about going for the leg this time." Ryo squeezes his hand. "So, where are we taking the lady today?"

"I was thinking lunch – food court, not park, before you get any ideas – and a movie?" 

"Sounds good to me."

-

Ryo can have appallingly bad taste in movies, but Jenrya thinks this is sometimes for the better. In dark and under-populated theatres, he's free to touch (as best as he can with the cast) and kiss Ryo as much as he wants.

Sitting a few rows behind, Ruki throws popcorn at them with impressive aim. "You picked the movie, watch it."

"Why did we bring her again," Ryo mumbles into Jenrya's throat.

"It's only until Mom realizes it's not your fault," Jenrya whispers back.

Then he gets hit in the back of the head by a piece of fudge.

"Okay, we've _got_ to start double-dating with Takato and Juri."

-

On Jenrya's theoretical doorstep, Ruki claims what's left of the fudge as her payment, then leaves. "Sweet girl," remarks Ryo, not without irony, "but we'll have to find a replacement."

Jenrya rolls his eyes and opens the door left-handed. "Mom, we're home."

His mother smiles at the sight of him, but Jenrya does not miss how her eyes narrow slightly when she sees Ryo. "Ruki's not with you?"

"She had to go home," Ryo lies, taking his shoes off. "Hi, Mrs. Lee. Nothing else broken this time."

"Good," she replies, still eying him with something akin to suspicion. "You haven't brought Monodramon this time?"

"No, he's not exactly subtle on the train." 

Jenrya ignores this exchange, instead watching Terriermon, Lopmon, and Shuichon by the TV. Lopmon looks perplexed. "Terriermon, what are you watching?"

Terriermon doesn't even look up. "Shhh, we're up to the good bit!"

"_Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon,_" Shuichon supplies helpfully.

"Noooooo, Hotaru, don't do it!" Terriermon moans.

"I don't get it," Lopmon murmurs.

"Uh...huh." Jenrya replies, amused at his partner's absorption. "Mom, we'll be in my room!"

As soon as the door's closed, Ryo's bag is thrown onto Jenrya's bed. He doesn't even have time to lock the door before Ryo's pressing him against it and kissing him fiercely.

"Ryo...door...stop that..."

Just as quickly, Ryo's grinning wickedly at him and unpacking a Digimon deck as if nothing had happened. Jenrya takes a moment to get his breathing under control before locking the door and joining him on the floor with his own cards. "You do know Ruki stole your good cards when I broke my arm, right?"

Ryo shrugs. "Not as much 'stole' as 'traded for pathetic cards', but hey, maybe now she'll have a chance at beating me."

Jenrya laughs, and sets up a game. He liked the Digimon MMORPG and clocked all the WonderSwan Color games (something Ryo likes to tease him about: "Did you like me in the games, too?"), but he's never really gotten into the card game. Ryo's been coaching him in it. He enjoys this simple way of spending time with him as much as the kissing and Ryo's insane love of heights.

"You've got a good style," Ryo compliments him, "it's good to build up all your digimon and not just one tank, and you pay attention to type advantages. Ruki doesn't, that's how I beat her. But what you could learn from her is—"

"You keep talking about Ruki," Jenrya notes.

The look Ryo gives him is even, too even. "I've never played Takato."

"'kazu? Juri?"

"'kazu plays like Milleniumon, all attack and no defense. Juri was taught by Takato and Ruki so of course she'll play like them, but, so I'm told, with better cards than Takato." Ryo notices him hesitating. "Ruki's the best player out there; after me, of course. That's _all_."

-

After dinner, Ryo stretches, removing his sweater. "God, I love Chinese food."

"You do know that was takeaway?"

"Even better." The older boy throws himself onto Jenrya's bed, so Jenrya takes the chair. "I think your mom knows." 

"Knows what?" Jenrya knows perfectly well but refuses to believe it.

"About us." Ryo doesn't seem the least bit concerned. "It's a mom thing."

Jenrya taps a drumbeat on his cast, a nervous habit he's acquired. "But we've never— _surely_ we're not that loud?" His voice goes up an octave.

"Oh, look," Ryo says offhandedly, "you're becoming a man. No, _that_ is the _real_ reason you're not allowed out alone with me any more, nothing to do with your breaking your arm on my watch."

"That's so unfair," Jenrya blurts out, "Jaarin's had boyfriends, Rinchei's had girlfriends, and _they_ never had to go out with a— a _third wheel_—"

Ryo raises an eyebrow at him, and ticks off qualities on his fingers. "They're _straight_, they would have _told_ your parents instead of sneaking around, I'm willing to bet they never got seriously injured while out with them. I think your arm was just the last straw."

Logic escapes Jenrya. "Stupid _tree_."

"Ever thought about just telling them?"

"Like how _you've_ told _your_ dad?"

Ryo falls silent.

-

They're civil enough for a few more rounds of Digimon (Ryo continues to go on about Ruki), but it's still tense when they get ready for bed. With absolutely no sense of modesty as usual, Ryo changes in front of him, and while Jenrya's seen him naked before in the Tamer sphere of Justimon and vice versa, he still looks away, and gets into his pajamas while Ryo packs up the cards.

Terriermon locks the door on his way out, and beds down with Lopmon and Shuichon for the night.

By now Ryo usually sets up a sleeping bag then goes straight to Jenrya's bed, but tonight he actually uses the sleeping bag, careful to avoid the legion of monitors on Jenrya's floor. "Night."

Guilt-stricken, Jenrya abandons his bed and crawls into Ryo's sleeping bag. "Look, I'm sorry. About Mom, and Ruki, and—the stupid stuff I said."

Ryo turns to him, eyes unreadable in the dim light through the thin curtains. "It's okay."

"It's not, I just—"

Ryo's fingers trace something on his cast. "Someone once told me to stop apologizing because it was unbecoming."

Then he kisses him. Jenrya wraps his left arm around Ryo's waist, fingers searching out skin and finding it. Ryo doesn't sleep with a shirt on. They've done this before but tonight there's fire in it, and Jenrya doesn't know what's different because surely it can't be the cast. Ryo's skin is heat, and the older boy shivers at Jenrya's cool fingers, and he breaks off the kiss for a moment to help get Jenrya's shirt off.

Jenrya doesn't remember being pushed onto his back, only that Ryo's mouth is trailing down his neck and leaving darker bruises to join the ones from the theatre. His fingers tangle into Ryo's hair, and he breathes in sharply when Ryo swipes his tongue across his throat, sharper when Ryo moves to scar his chest. They're quieter now that his mother knows.

He doesn't realize they're both hard until he shifts up against Ryo without really thinking about it and they both gasp. Ryo looks at him, eyes insistent, demanding to go further. Jenrya freezes.

"Jen?"

His brain goes back to sex ed classes, then to throwaway conversations with Ryo. He knows Ryo's slept with girls before.

"_Jen_."

Two weeks ago. His thoughts fly to their conversation two weeks ago.

"Talk to me, Jen."

"My arm is still covered in plaster," he whispers shakily.

Ryo lets out a trembling breath. "Fiberglass, remember?"

Jenrya would kind of like to hit himself with his cast.

"My Cinderella," Ryo breathes over his lips, then kisses him with a sigh.

It's too hard to sleep in each other's arms with the cast, so they shift around until Jenrya's back is against Ryo's chest and the older boy slips an arm around him. Jenrya can feel how hard Ryo is, accusatory, until Ryo calms down.

He's always first to fall asleep, but tonight sleep is evasive, so when Ryo presses a murmured, "I love you," into the back of his neck, he's awake to hear it.

He lets Ryo believe he's asleep.


	3. Winds Do Shake the Darling Buds of May

"Pass the milk."

Ryo does so, then shakes his head as Jenrya drinks it. "You've really got to stop drinking it straight out of the carton, Jen, that's disgusting."

"I agree," says his mother, and Jenrya thinks this is probably the _only_ time he'll ever hear her agreeing with him. "So, Ryo, what time's your train?"

"Three. Still got a few hours left in Shinjuku, eh, Jen."

"Wouldn't you like to go spend time with your _other_ friends in Shinjuku, instead of spending this whole weekend with Jenrya?"

Jenrya almost protests, until Ryo shoots him a look that says, 'be_have_.' "Yeah, I probably will, Mrs. Lee. I mean, no offense but Jen gets kind of annoying sometimes."

"You have no idea," grins Rinchei.

The older Tamer shares a smirk with Jenrya's brother. "I might go see what Ruki's up to."

"What are you doing?" Jenrya demands, once they're back in his room.

"Trying to make sure I can still hang out with my— my _boyfriend_ in future," Ryo hisses, then kisses him to shut him up.

It doesn't work. Jenrya pulls away, glaring. "Why do you always do that?"

"Do what?"

"_Hesitate_ before saying I'm your _boyfriend_."

Ryo is too sarcastic for this time of morning. "Because _you_ say I'm _your_ boyfriend _all the time_."

Jenrya winces, and taps on his cast. "Okay, I deserved that."

"Yeah," says Ryo, finding a shirt, "you did."

Jenrya packs up the rest of Ryo's things in silence.

-

After seeing Ryo off from the street corner, Jenrya takes the stairs back up the apartment building. "Lovers' spat," asks Terriermon gently.

"We're not _lovers_," Jenrya snaps.

Terriermon pokes him low on the collarbone, right over a bruise. Jenrya flinches. "I don't know _how_ that managed to bruise, there's _bone_ there."

"Momentai, Jen." Terriermon replies.

"Takato, can I ask you a personal question?"

"_Sure, I guess._"

"You might wanna close the door for this one."

"_Door closed. What is it?_"

"Do you and Juri..."

"_Do we what?_"

"Do you, have you ever...you know...

"I heard a crash, are you alright?"

"_You could have warned me to sit down, too!_"

"So _have_ you?"

"_Jenrya, we're _fourteen"

"Which makes it legal, this _is_ Japan..."

"_No! __I mean, I'd _like_ to, I guess, but I'm not allowed to so much as close the door when she's over, and I'm not even allowed in her room when I go to her place._"

"Huh. Okay."

"_Besides, her dad would _kill_ me if we did, and then _Mom_ would kill whatever's left, and then who would look after Guilmon?_"

"Good point."

"_Why do you ask, anyway? Have you and Ryo...?_"

"...almost. Once."

"_Oh man, I did _not_ need that mental image. Why 'almost'? What happened? Did your mom—?_"

"Oh, gods, no! I stopped him."

"_Why?_"

"Er, the cast?"

"_Sounds like an excuse to me._"

"I just wasn't sure, okay?"

"_Yeah, fair enough, I guess. How many hickeys._"

"...fourteen."

"_Oh, good _Lord"

"Yeeeah. You sound like your mother."

-

Jenrya shakes his head. "Makino Ruki, I will never get used to seeing you in uniform."

"Shut up," retorts Ruki, sitting down carefully in her skirt, "I couldn't be bothered getting changed. Are we going to play, or what?"

Ryo says it's helpful to play people better than you. "Yeah, yeah, we're going to play."

They set up a game, and Jenrya double-takes Ruki's starting Digimon.

"Ryo's card, isn't it?"

"Traded fair and square, before you accuse me of ripping him off." Ruki replies. "How can you tell?"

Jenrya points at it. "Maple leaf in the corner."

"He's Canadian?"

"That's what I said," Jenrya smirks. "It's from his surname; 'aki' means 'autumn' and he can only draw maple leaves."

"Go figure," says Ruki, rolling her eyes, "I never pegged him as having much artistic talent. Do you mark your cards as well?"

"Yeah, saves me confusing my cards with anyone else's. My Chinese name's in the border."

"How very _Card Captor Sakura_ of you. Am I the _only_ one who doesn't doodle on their cards?"

"Well, Takato puts those four triangles Guilmon has on his snout by the B attack, Juri uses stickers, I think 'kazu and Kenta put their names on their cards, even Shuichon writes her Chinese name on her cards, so yeah, I think you're the odd one out."

"Maple leaves, huh?" Ruki blurts out, suddenly squinting at his cast, then his card, then back again.

She starts laughing. "Oh, that's priceless!"

Jenrya puts his head in his hands. "Ryo's _got_ to get better at the whole 'symbolism' thing..."

-

"Terriermon, what's this?"

"Jaarin's, not mine, geeze. I thought you might want to see this."

"You know I don't read tablo— _what_?"

"That's kinda what I was thinking. I mean, check out _this_ photo..."

"Pass me the phone."

"_If you're a reporter, Ryo moved to another country._"

"Mr. Akiyama, it's Jenrya. May I please speak to Ryo?"

"_Oh, alright, then. __Ryo, it's for you. No, it's Jenrya..._"

"_Hey._"

"'Legendary _Digimon_ card player Akiyama Ryo has recently been seen out and about with one _Digimon_ Queen Makino Ruki—'"

"_What?_"

"'—on the streets of West Shinjuku. Witnesses report the two were laughing together and holding hands. Are we likely to see a union of Digi-royalty? Check out these photos and decide for yourself!'"

"_I hate the paparazzi, don't you?_"

"You were _holding her hand_?"

"_They obviously didn't publish the photos where she yelled at me for trying._"

"You _kissed_ her!"

"_Only on the cheek. She hit me afterwards, but the look on her face was completely worth it._"

"Was it worth _me_?"

"_Jen, I—_"

"You came up to Shinjuku without telling me."

"_It was just a day trip. I was gonna surprise you, but no one was home when I went to your place._"

"...I was at the hospital."

"_So I went and hung out with Ruri._"

"Oh, so she's got her own little _nickname_ now?"

"_Jen, or should I say Cinderella, I give _everyone_ nicknames, you know that._"

"Yeah, but 'diamond' is so much less _demeaning_ than Cinderella."

"_Well, you never said you didn't like it._"

"_Ruri_. Is she your new _girlfriend_?"

"_Oh, please. You shouldn't believe everything you read in the tabloids, Jen. But would it really be so bad for your mother to believe it?_"

"What?"

"_Look at it from your mom's point of view. If I'm going out with Ruki, then I can't possibly be corrupting her precious younger son, can I?_"

"...maybe."

"_If it means we can go out again, it's worth it, right?_"

"Ruki—"

"_I don't think she'll mind. And I can bribe her with a few cards if she does._"

"I don't like it."

"_Stop sulking, Jen. It's just temporary, yeah? I promise you, she won't come between us._"

"She already has."

"_What?_"

"N—nothing."

"_Sure. Okay, I've got to go._"

"Alright. I'll see you...whenever."

"_Yeah. Jen?_"

"Mm?"

"_Love you._"

"I— he hung up on me."

"I guess he didn't want to hear the answer."

"Terriermon, you have _got_ to stop eavesdropping on the phone."

"So _do_ you love him?"

"I..."

-

They've made it a point to let the Digimon go play at the park together once in a while, just the three (six, counting partners) of them once in a while. Like old times, with no girlfriends (Juri) or boyfriends (Ryo) or hangers on ('kazu, Kenta, and half Takato's class last year) invited. Besides, it's a chance to catch up.

"Someone's looking uncharacteristically happy," observes Takato.

Jenrya frowns at Ruki. "I wouldn't call it happy, more 'smug'."

Takato tilts his head to the side, questioning. "Any particular reason why?"

Without speaking, Jenrya moves to his bag and throws Takato a magazine.

"Jenrya, I didn't know you read the tabloids."

"Jaarin reads them, Terriermon steals them when she comes back for visits," Jenrya sighs. "Page twelve."

Ruki smirks in the vague direction of Terriermon and Guilmon as Takato reads in silence.

"You and Ryo, huh? I saw that coming back in the digital world."

Jenrya raises his eyebrows.

"Jenrya, did you and Ryo break up?"

"No." he snaps.

"Then... What?"

"We're not really going out," says Ruki, eyes blazing, "we're just pretending to so that Cinderella over here will be allowed out with Ryo again."

Jenrya _hates_ that nickname. "Don't call me that."

"And...you're...happy about this?" Takato asks Ruki.

Her eyes speak of triumph. "It's _brilliant_; it means Mom's finally stopped asking when Ryo's going to ask me out, and those stupid girls at school can't call me 'frigid' or 'ice bitch' because it's _all over_ the magazines that Makino Ruki has a _boyfriend_."

"Who...happens to be someone else's boyfriend," Takato hazards.

"You like him, don't you?" Jenrya demands, turning on Ruki. "You wanted him, and that's why you're _so happy_ that you've finally got him."

All Jenrya learned about life, he learned from Digimon in some way or another: People blink a lot when they lie, and Ruki is no exception. "No, it's just Mom and everyone at school—"

"No, Ruki, you don't _care_ what anyone else thinks, that's what makes you Ruki." Jenrya glares. "_You wanted him_."

"And so what if I did?" Ruki retorts. "Can't you just let me enjoy _feeling like_ I've got him?"

"We were meant to have fun today," attempts Takato.

"Because he _holds your hand_ when you go out, and calls you _Wildcat_ and his little diamond, _Ruri_?"

"You're fighting over a boy," Takato points out. "You're fighting over _Ryo_, who may just be the stupidest person in the world to fight over."

Jenrya ignores him. "Does he kiss you, Ruki? Does he bite you just low enough to hide if you wear your shirt higher?"

The younger boy glances between them, disturbed. "You know, this really sounds like something you should take up with Ryo instead of arguing over it."

"Well, has he ever told you he loves you, Ruki? Has he ever told you that?"

"What, because _you're_ so in love with _him_?" Ruki yells.

"Guilmon, we're going home!"

Ruki takes in the guilt on his face and uses it. "You don't love him, Jenrya! You don't deserve him! He comes all the way up from Kitakyushu and tells you he loves you and _you don't love him_. You just want to _own_ him, let the world know _you_ go out with the Digimon King. Only, that's right— you don't tell _anyone_ you go out with him, do you? Just Takato, and Terriermon, and leave the rest of the world to figure it out."

"Bye, Terriermon!"

"Maybe it's just a sham, but _I'm not ashamed of him!_" Ruki shrieks. "Maybe he's just using me, but _I love him_. Which is more than you can say!"

Jenrya can only get out one word. "I..."

"We're leaving, Renamon!"

Renamon nods, and phases out, and Ruki stalks off without another word, leaving Jenrya to stare after her.

Terriermon hops onto his shoulder. "If you tell me to momentai..." Jenrya warns him.

The child shakes his head. "Takato's right; you need to talk to Ryo."


	4. Undone By a Touch of Sun in June

Takato, as always, starts with his promotional Guilmon and Kurumon card.

"You really like using that card, huh," Jenrya remarks, amused.

"Of course!" Takato beams. "It's just so cool being able to play the card game with a Digimon _I made up_. And I did the art for his natural evolutionary line, as well."

"Really?" Jenrya asks, impressed.

"Well, the line art," Takato allows, "Bandai did the coloring and shading. And it was only for the promotional cards and the X Booster set, the newer cards were done by someone else."

"That's still pretty impressive." Jenrya plays Terriermon as his starter. "Something for the portfolio."

"I did Kurumon as well," Takato confides. "Anyway. Have you talked to Ryo yet?"

Jenrya ignores this question, and fills up his bench instead.

That's answer enough for Takato. "Ah, okay. Still not talking to Ruki?"

"Still not talking _about_ Ruki, either." Jenrya glances over his hand. "Card slash! Meramon's Burning Fist, activate!"

"You know, the whole—" Takato attempts an imitation of Jenrya's elaborate card slash— "isn't really necessary in the card game. Or, at all."

"It's fun and it distracts people," Jenrya excuses. By 'people', he means 'Ryo'.

"Right," replies Takato, unconvinced. "Any plans for summer?"

"Get the cast off," Jenrya replies immediately. "I have to wait till August."

"Well, you're almost halfway there."

Takato considers, and puts down a Growmon card. "Um, my cousin Kai invited me to Okinawa for the weekend school gets out, and Grandpa said I can bring a friend."

Distracted, Jenrya tries to focus on the game, and plays Galgomon. "Have fun with Guilmon."

Takato rolls his eyes. "A _human_ friend, Jen. As _well_ as Guilmon."

Jenrya makes note of the nickname but does not comment. "How are you going to decide between 'kazu and Kenta?"

"They're inseparable! Splitting them up would be cruel."

A thought occurs to Jenrya. "They're not—?"

"No!" Takato yelps. "'kazu's straighter than—" Takato was never a linguistic learner, "—a straight thing. It's just that Kenta's been getting some flak from Taizou and Yuuji for having such a, I quote, 'girly and ineffective Digimon', so 'kazu's been sticking up for him.

"Oh, by the way, Turuiemon's Gauntlet activate."

"That's not fair," Jenrya protests, not meaning the card. "Marine Angemon's a Mega."

"I know."

"And he saved our lives."

"I know."

"And at least he's _got_ a Digimon, you know?"

"Jen?"

"What?"

Takato's smiling. "Wanna come to Okinawa with me?"

Jenrya blinks. "What?"

The younger boy shrugs. "It's just that we haven't done anything with just us since –well, when we ended up in Okinawa together last year, and, I thought it might...help get your mind off that whole mess with...two people starting with R whose names I won't mention."

Considering the offer, Jenrya evolves his Galgomon into Cyberdramon.

"You know, I don't think that's going to help with the whole distraction thing."

"No, but it _is_ going to help me beat you." Jenrya grins, and knocks out Takato's Growmon card. "I'll ask Dad when he gets home."

-

Rinchei glances up when Jenrya gets home. "Ryo called, like, five times."

"He's probably having problems with his _girlfriend_," replies Jenrya.

"Who's he going out with, anyway? That Ruki girl?"

This time Jenrya doesn't manage to keep the bitterness out of his voice. "Yes."

His brother eyes him. "Awww, someone's jealous! You like her, don't you?" He smiles kindly. "It was never going to happen, Jen; she's not your type."

Jenrya starts laughing hysterically, leaving Rinchei to stare after him in confusion as he cackles all the way to his room.

"You really should call him back," Terriermon says quietly.

-

"Dad," Jenrya says over dinner, "Takato invited me to Okinawa for the first weekend of vacation. Can I go?"

"You went there on your own last summer," his mother reminds him.

"Yeah, but that was because I was being a tourist and ogling the meteor." Jenrya points out. "This time I'm just going to hang out with Takato and Guilmon, and his cousin Kai. Just as a break, you know. And it'd be a lot cheaper this time, we'd be staying at Takato's relatives' instead of in a hotel."

"Weren't you there with Takato last summer?"

"Yeah, to _save human civilization_."

His mother looks pointedly at his cast. "So what exactly are you going to do by the sea?"

He sighs. "Mom, fiberglass is waterproof. But I'm not planning on diving again anyway, so that makes it cheaper too."

"Well," his father interrupts before Mom can get in another word, "you handled yourself well on your own last summer, so I don't see why you can't go again."

Jenrya smiles, unable to get his grin any wider. "Thanks, Dad. Now, the plan was to fly there after school on Friday, and then stay there two nights and come back on Sunday..."

-

He's still bitter later. "It's not like I was asking to go disappear to the other end of the country for a weekend with _Ryo_."

Terriermon rolls his eyes and throws him his cellphone.

_Jen,_

_How long are you going to keep freezing me out? _

_At least you could tell me what I DID? If this is about Ruki, it's just a way to make your mom think I'm safe for you to hang out with. You did agree to this. And we're just playing it up for the media; you know how publicity stunts work, you had to do all that promotional stuff for Bandai after the D-Reaper as well._

_Talk to me, Jen._

_Your Ryo_

Terriermon attempts to mollify him. "'Your Ryo'. See, he still loves you."

_She loves you._

"Way to waste money on three words," the child points out, "you could have just sent that from the computer."

_Maybe, but I don't love HER._

"Money wasters, the both of you," Terriermon sighs.

Jenrya doesn't bother replying to either of them.

_Look, what are you doing when school gets out? I'll come up to Shinjuku and hang out with just you. No fake girlfriends._

_Don't bother, I'm going to Okinawa with Takato._

_When do you get back?_

_I was thinking of moving there._

_It would be warmer than Shinjuku. Seriously though, how long are you there?_

Jenrya decides to leave him hanging.

-

He really doesn't mind taking the train to Haneda Airport, but his dad insists on driving him.

For some reason, Jenrya can't stop tapping on his cast, until Terriermon silences him with an ear over his hand.

"Dad, can I tell you something?" he blurts out on a whim.

"Sure," his father replies.

Jenrya could have planned this a lot better, but there's nothing for it now. "I'm gay." 

Dad sighs. "I'd kind of guessed that. You never seemed overly interested in girls."

He thinks Terriermon suppresses a snigger. "So you're okay with it?"

"Yes, but I think it might take your mother a bit longer to get used to the idea." The airport's the next turn off. "Look, Takato's with Juri, so _don't_ hurt her."

"Dad!" Jenrya half-shouts. "Takato's my best friend! I don't like him that way! And besides, I'd _never_ hurt Juri! After all that trouble I went to to help Takato save her?"

"Oh, good," his father says, relieved, "I was worried that was what this weekend was about. I guess it's time for my second guess: How long have you been with Ryo?"

Jenrya blushes furiously.

"What gave it away?" Terriermon interjects, impressed.

"The locked bedroom door, mostly." Dad stops the car by the domestic terminal, and eyes him warily. "Jianliang, have you and Ryo ever...?"

"I'll tell you everything when I get back," says Jenrya, escaping the car, "promise."

"I just want you to be safe," his father says quietly, and he stops in his tracks.

"Dad, I love you."

"I know. Be good in Okinawa." 

"I will."

-

It's been over eight months, but being the saviors of the world can still get kind of crazy sometimes.

"Oh, you're those boys who fought that pink goo over Shinjuku with your Digimon last fall, aren't you?" says the flight attendant. "Almost didn't recognize you with your clothes on." Terriermon sniggers. "You and your Digimon can travel for free!"

"But...we've...already...paid?" Takato replies blankly, holding up their tickets. "We even got Guilmon an adult ticket. I mean, he's only about one year old, but he's so big." 

"Here, we'll bump you up to business class," beams the flight attendant. "You're always welcome aboard Japan Airlines!"

"Er, thanks." Jenrya takes the new tickets, shaking his head at Takato to silence his protests. "Look, I never wanted to appear on nationwide TV naked, so we might as well milk it while some people still remember our faces."

"It's insane," sighs Takato, taking a seat. "How much fan mail did you get?"

"I'm assuming by 'fan mail' you mean 'mail from crazy girls'." Jenrya points out. "Quite a lot. Several girls wanting to go out with me. I don't know _why_ I didn't take advantage of it, but there you go."

"Because you already spent half your time staring at Ryo," Terriermon smirks. "But let's not forget the three proposals of marriage."

"Takato got ten," says Guilmon.

Jenrya laughs. "Oh, you win. Girls love a hero."

"Because you know so much about girls," Takato retorts, blushing.

"They wanted you to rescue them," teases Jenrya, "go as far for them as you did for Juri." 

"Shut up!"

"Alright, then." Jenrya complies, grinning. "How _is_ Juri, anyway?"

"Great," and suddenly there's this _light_ in his eyes and his beam is more radiant than the metaphors in the poetry he has to read at school (god, Jenrya hates figurative writing). "Seven months last week."

"That long already?" Idly, Jenrya tries to work out how long he and Ryo have been together. Ryo first kissed him in December, when they all went down to Kitakyushu for his sixteenth birthday...

"Her dad finally let me in her room," the younger boy laughs. "But you know what's better?"

He'd been flirting with Jenrya since the crooked mansion in the digital world, at first as a source of amusement at Jenrya's reactions (so he'd confessed), but in earnest by the time the D-Reaper was in Shinjuku. "What?"

Takato looks at his lap, smiling softly. "She finally told me she loves me."

Jenrya breaks into a grin. "That's great, Takato."

But there was never really a moment of 'let's go out', it was just that they were suddenly spending a lot more time together and a lot of that time was spent making out, making up for time lost online or on the phone. And then someone, Ryo, he thinks, dropped the B word around February in an explanation to their Digimon. Then Jenrya told Takato.

"Yeah, I'm just so happy, we're finally..." The younger boy looks up again, wordless joy turning into curiosity. "Do you and Ryo...? I mean, you've been together practically as long as me and Juri, from what you've told me..."

"Er." Jenrya traces Ryo's design on his cast. "He kind of threw it at me when I broke my arm. I didn't really know what to say. And sometimes I kind of wonder whether he only said it because he felt bad about my arm..."

Takato studies his cast. "Where'd he learn how to write Jian in Chinese?"

"No idea. Shuichon, maybe." He sighs. "I don't mean to go all _Grey's Anatomy_ on you, but I just felt like..._feel_ like...if I said it now, I'd just be saying it because_ he_ did, and not because I really love him. You know?"

"Yeah."

-

Takato and Guilmon fall asleep over Kyushu. Jenrya drapes a blanket over them, then takes out his Game Boy Advance SP.

"Jen," says Terriermon, "that was brave, you know."

"What?" Jenrya blinks.

"With your dad."

He smiles. "Thanks. I wasn't really thinking about it."

"I wonder how your mom's going to take it?"


	5. Plus a Touch of the Moon

"If I still know Kai," mutters Takato, attempting to see above the crowds, "he'll be..."

From his higher vantage point on Jenrya's head, Terriermon points with an ear. "Right there, with the flattering sign."

_**Saviors of the World**_

_**(I can't draw Digimon so I just blew up the cards)**_

Takato groans. "We look like Powerpuff Girls."

"So the artistic talent runs in the family?" quips Terriermon, not unkindly. "What a pity he can't draw Digimon, I would've liked to see his renditions of us."

Being taller than Takato, Jenrya can see Kai turning the sign before he does. "No, wait, he's changing it..."

_**Matsuda Takato**_

_**Guilmon**_

_**Lee Jenrya**_

_**Terriermon**_

"Kai!" Takato yells. Spotting him, Kai lowers the sign and runs across the terminal for a hug.

Jenrya watches the cousins (and Guilmon, joining the fray) with a smile, then is pleasantly surprised when Kai disentangles himself from the group hug and throws his arms around him. "Erm. Hey, Kai; nice to see you again in less dangerous circumstances; mind the arm."

Kai pulls back, staring. "Whoa, dude. Did you get that being a Tamer?"

"No, just being a boyfriend," Jenrya replies without thinking. "Believe me when I say having a picnic up a tree is a bad idea."

"Right on, man." Kai grins. "Hey, I was thinking: You're Chinese, right?"

"Half, from Dad, yeah," answers Jenrya, wondering where this is going.

"So do I call you Jenrya or Jianliang?"

His accent's perfect. Jenrya blinks, then turns to Takato. "Takato, I had no idea your family's part Chinese."

Takato _stares_ at his cousin. "Believe me, neither did I."

Kai laughs. "Nah, I'm all Japanese. But this is Okinawa, man, you learn more than your fair share of Chinese around here."

"Oh, true." Jenrya smiles. "Call me Jian."

"Jen, Jian; boy, is this vacation going to get confusing." Takato mutters.

-

The sea is rough tonight. The ferry is barely twenty minutes out of Tomari Port when the storm hits, and even Kai is below decks. It's Jenrya's first time on a boat, but he can cope alright, so he holds the sick bag for Takato as the younger boy throws up.

"I thought we had some pretty bad turbulence on the plane," he tells Kai, "but this takes the cake."

Takato does not comment on their flight, only gazes queasily at anything that isn't moving.

Jenrya leaves Kai on barf bag duty as he goes to get more bags. By the time he gets back, an idea is fully formed. "Takato," says Jenrya, "stand up."

"What?" Takato manages.

"I'm serious, Takato, stand up."

"You're insane," remarks Kai, but his cousin struggles to his feet.

Terriermon smiles at him from his perch on Jenrya's shoulder. "There, don't you feel better now?"

"No," says Takato, stumbling, "I feel like I'm about to fall over."

Jenrya, on the other hand, keeps his balance as well as Kai. "Look, you know how _I'm_ staying up? I'm moving _with_ the boat."

"What?" Takato repeats.

The ferry bucks up then falls again, and Jenrya grabs Takato by the wrist and hand to stop him falling over. It's awkward, but Jenrya is glad Takato's not throwing up on him again. "You can feel the boat moving. Move with it."

Takato almost tumbles forth into Jenrya's arms, and he has to laugh. "Takato, I'm not holding your hand because I _like_ you."

"I _can't_ stay standing!" Takato shouts. "This is _crazy_—"

His brain hits an analogy. "It's like Guilmon, right? You're one with Guilmon, and that's why you always went through his motions when he fought as Megalo Growmon; that's why when Guilmon hurts, you hurt too, so much more than me and Ruki; that's why you and Guilmon were able to matrix evolve."

"I think I get it," says Guilmon, and Terriermon applauds in surprise.

Jenrya probably sounds like his sensei, but it's a chance he has to take. "The boat is one with the sea, and that's why it's moving around so much. _Be one with the boat._"

"He's not throwing up any more," murmurs Kai.

Jenrya holds Takato's gaze. Eventually, something shifts in his eyes, and the younger boy starts shifting with the ebb and flow of the waves as Jenrya does, and he's not just not throwing up, he's relatively stable as well. Behind them, Guilmon does the same, and Kai watches, fascinated.

"You can let go of my hands now," he finally says, "this is getting kind of awkward."

Jenrya laughs, and lets go. He glances over at Guilmon to see how he's getting on, and catches a glimpse of Kai. The look on his face is one he's only ever seen on Ryo's, one that speaks of curiosity, of interest. When he looks closer, it's gone.

-

By the time they reach Tokashiki Island, the ferry is twenty minutes late, and the sun is setting somewhere beyond the rain clouds. Takato's cousin sighs. "Walking home's gonna be fun in this rain."

"Well, actually," Takato says, looking at Guilmon thoughtfully, "I had a better idea. Guilmon?"

"Right," replies Guilmon, and they matrix evolve. Kai's jaw literally drops, making Jenrya and Terriermon laugh.

"Been there, done that, bought the T-shirt," Terriermon grins.

"I don't suppose you could give me that T-shirt?" asks Takato, blushing in the Tamer sphere. "But at least we're still in Crimson mode. My plan _shall_ work!" Dukemon lifts Takato and Jenrya's bags, then turns to Jenrya. "You coming, Jen?"

"Of course; we're too big as Saint Galgomon." Jenrya smirks and lets Dukemon pick him and Terriermon up. Catching Kai's eye, he decides to see if he can get more of a reaction out of him, and mock-swoons. "Oh, Takato, you're so strong." Kai merely raises an eyebrow.

"Don't push it," Takato warns him, but inside the Tamer sphere, he's smiling. With that, Dukemon takes off, not bothering to bring Kai. "_That's for leaving us behind last time!"_

"What...?" asks Terriermon, hanging on to Jenrya's head.

He always finds it a bit unnerving to hear Takato and Guilmon speak together. "Last summer, he jumped off the ferry and swam home, leaving us to walk to his grandpa's house from the port." Guilmon takes over from there. "Takato got so tired he fell asleep and I had to push him home on top of his suitcase."

"I thought we agreed we weren't going to talk about that," grumbles Takato, then he changes the subject. "I wish this rain would let up, I bet our armor is going to rust."

"But it's chrome digizoid, right? It should just be data." Jenrya muses. "I don't think it would have any iron in it..."

"You're too practical," says Dukemon, and Jenrya shivers again at their dual voice. Takato notices. "Are you cold?"

"A little," Jenrya admits, only realizing it now. "You're doing a pretty good job of keeping the rain off, though, thanks."

"It's only because they're so big," Terriermon stage whispers.

"We heard that. And it's not like you're much better as Saint Galgomon."

"This is true," the child concedes. "Hey, are we there yet?"

"Just about..."

"There?" asks Jenrya, pointing out a house.

"No, that's a neighbor. Hold on... _There!_"

Dukemon lands neatly by the deck, to the stares of Kai's grandfather. Panting, Kai runs up, and grins as Dukemon puts Jenrya, Terriermon, and the bags down then reverts into Takato and Guilmon. "Just a dog, huh, Gramps?"

His grandfather stares for a moment, then turns to Jenrya. "Who's this?"

Jenrya bows. "Lee Jenrya, or Jianliang, sir. I'm one of Takato's friends."

Terriermon gets a pointed look. "Is this your dog?"

"Er..." replies Jenrya, lost for words.

-

It's not homesickness or being in a foreign place. It's not sleeping on the floor; they did that in the digital world. It's not the rain pelting down on the roof, or the humidity that comes later. It's not even Guilmon's snoring. Jenrya can't sleep, and he doesn't know why.

Kai had said the house isn't far from the beach. When the storm clears up, Jenrya puts his shoes on and walks there, taking his D-arc, and, rather uselessly, his cellphone, out of habit. There's no cellphone reception out here. Takato had mentioned there's some in the town, though he'd muttered afterwards that it wasn't much use to him anyway; he _still _doesn't have a phone.

Ryo would like it here, Jenrya decides. (The urge to kick himself for thinking about him flickers feebly, then fades.) There had been a moment once when Ryo was up from Kitakyushu on a particularly smoggy day, and they'd been lying together in the park, his head in Ryo's lap, Ryo's fingers in his hair. Ryo gives the best head massages. But he'd been restless that day, looking up into the polluted clouds when Jenrya had looked up and tried to catch his eye. "I hate the city," he'd muttered, "being all cooped up like this, people everywhere, nothing to do but be nice and polite and the perfect little Japanese boy..."

"There _is_ more," Jenrya had murmured, but he couldn't really come up with anything.

There must have been something sad in his eyes when Ryo looked back at him, because the older boy had smiled and said, "It's worth it, for you," and kissed him right there in the park.

But Ryo would like it _here_, in the middle of nowhere with no one around and the sea at his feet. He'd said once he liked the sea.

The waves are calmer now, murky in the night. Jenrya thinks they're the color of Ryo's eyes, when they're intense and dark with desire.

"Jian! Don't go out there at night!"

The water laps at his feet. Jenrya hadn't noticed he'd stepped into the tide. He glances back at the beach, startled, and sees Takato's cousin.

"I woke up, and you weren't there," Kai pants, by way of explanation.

In the moonlight, Kai's hair is the same shade as Ryo's. Jenrya steps closer – but no, Kai's eyes are brown where Ryo's are blue. Kai looks at him oddly, then tries to write it off. "Yeah, that's it, get away from the water. People have drowned going for a midnight swim out there."

Jenrya stops before him. How could he ever have mistaken Kai for Ryo, even for a moment?

"What are you doing out here, anyway?"

Snap out of it, Lee, Jenrya tells himself. "I couldn't sleep, and... At home I usually just walk around the house, but I felt like that would be intruding, so I came here."

"You're insane," remarks Kai.

"Yes, you said that before." Jenrya observes. "Come on, let's go back to your place."

They walk the path in silence. Jenrya stalks ahead, still too restless to even think about sleeping, and he kind of wishes Kai hadn't come after him.

"What were you saying to Takato before?"

"Hmm?" Jenrya glances back at Kai.

Kai does a passable imitation of Jenrya's swoon. "'Oh, Takato, you're so strong.'"

At this time of night, he doesn't have the patience to be nice about it. "It was just to see how you'd react."

Takato's cousin looks a little confused. But there's that _interest_ again. As flattering as it is, it's unwelcome.

"On the ferry." Jenrya attempts to clarify. "You were _looking_."

Kai averts his gaze, but there's a challenge in his voice. "So what if I was?"

For a moment, Jenrya stares at him, then he strides back up to the house on his own.


	6. The Boys of Summer

"The water's great out here, Jen, you should come out and play with us!" yells Takato.

On the beach, Jenrya wonders idly when he started letting Takato call him Jen, and more importantly, why. "I'd better not."

Terriermon surfaces from the waves, and beckons to him with an ear. "You got that waterproof cast lining, remember!"

There goes that excuse. Jenrya lifts his sunglasses to look at them more clearly. "I think I'll just stay on the beach and, er, tan."

"You're so gay, Jen," Takato laughs. He's not trying to be mean about it, but there's that look from Kai again. Jenrya wishes he'd stop.

"I'm going to make a sand castle," he declares as a distraction (as an excuse), and so he starts measuring out a moat.

"Ooh, can I help?" Guilmon asks, starting to paddle to shore.

Jenrya grins, remembering exactly how good Guilmon is at digging. "You'd probably just end up digging a tunnel to China."

The child's ears droop. "Awwwww."

"Momentai!" calls Terriermon, splashing him, and soon the Digimon are spraying water at each other again.

Takato comes in later, taking off his goggles. "Looking good, Jen." Jenrya raises an eyebrow, amused. "The _castle_. How'd you get everything so straight and same-sized and at exactly the same angles without buckets and things?"

"Trigonometry," replies Jenrya, arranging pebbles for a rock garden. "And you said math isn't useful in real life."

"Well, I'm never going to work out the distance between two fence posts by using a parabola," Takato says. "I'll use a _ruler_. Seriously, though, your sand castle is amazingly...almost freakishly..."

"Historically accurate?" Kai suggests, coming up behind him.

Carefully, Jenrya shatters a bit of driftwood with his good hand and plants the pieces diagonally into the mound his castle is built on.

"Yeah," agrees Takato, awestruck.

"What can I say," shrugs Jenrya, "I enjoy history class."

The younger boy continues to stare at his sandcastle. "Some might say a little too much."

Kai watches Jenrya etch details into the roof with a leftover splinter. "Would you like to see a real gusuku, then?"

"A what?" Jenrya blinks.

Kai grins. "A Ryūkyūan castle. There's a reconstruction of Shuri Castle in Naha."

He doesn't need to think about it. "That would be _awesome_."

"Would we have to take the ferry again," ventures Takato.

"Be one with the boat," Kai teases.

"We could just go really early for our flight back tomorrow." Jenrya suggests.

"Okay, I like that idea." Takato surveys the castle, thoughtful. "I think it needs a flag."

Jenrya stares at him, appalled. "Have you ever seen a shiro with a flag?"

"Have you ever seen a sand castle with a rock garden?" Takato points out.

"At least it's accurate!"

Takato sets off for the house. "I'll go get some cloth."

Jenrya runs after him. "No flags! _No flags!_ Just...no!"

"Wanna get lunch in the village?" Kai calls after them by way of diversion.

"Lunch!" proclaim Terriermon and Guilmon, coming in to shore.

"This could be interesting to explain in town," Kai murmurs.

-

"Are we there yet?" whines Takato.

Jenrya gives him a half-hearted shove forward. "Toughen up, Takato, we walked further than this in the digital world."

The younger boy gives him a withering look. "We were data there, it wasn't as tiring."

"You city slickers are so unfit," Kai yells from in front of them.

"Prince Lazypants," Jenrya tells Terriermon, who's riding on his head.

"Be grateful," the child warns him, "you have dark hair and I make great shade."

Guilmon headbutts his partner gently. "Takato, want a ride?"

"Please and thank you," replies Takato, climbing onto his back.

Jenrya's vest pocket starts vibrating. He blinks, then takes out his cellphone.

**5 messages received**

**3 missed calls**

**Show**

"Gee, I wonder who they could be from?" Terriermon deadpans.

Takato looks up at Jenrya's phone. "_We have civilization!_" he almost screams.

"The definition of 'civilization' doesn't usually include 'cellphone reception'," Jenrya murmurs with a smile.

Terriermon is impatient as always. "Well, are you going to read them, or what?"

**Messages**

**Text Messages**

**Inbox**

**Akiyama Ryo**

**Shuichon**

**Akiyama Ryo**

**Mom**

**Dad**

"I can't believe your eight-year-old sister has a cellphone and I don't," grumbles Takato.

"Nine," Jenrya corrects him absentmindedly, "she had her birthday when we were in Tsukuba."

Takato blinks. "No party or anything?"

"When all her friends except Lopmon and Terriermon were evacuated?" Jenrya points out.

Terriermon reaches for his phone in an exercise of futility. "Jen didn't celebrate his birthday either."

"Getting home was celebration enough."

**Shuichon**

_I hope you and Terriermon are having fun in Okinawa! Tell Terriermon they saved Hotaru._

"I missed it?" Terriermon demands, outraged.

Takato ignores him. "When_ was_ your birthday?"

"October eleventh, the day we got back to Shinjuku." Jenrya hesitates, then: "Ruki's was two days later, when we all went to her house."

"Not a good year for birthdays, then."

"Ryo's was pretty good," Jenrya replies without thinking.

**Mom**

_Take care of yourself in Okinawa._

"What's a birthday, Takato?" asks Guilmon.

Takato sighs. "We've gone over this, Guilmon, it's the day you were born. Or I guess yours would be the day I created you."

Terriermon pokes Jenrya's shoulder with an ear. "When's mine?"

He considers. "I don't know, actually. The day I started the game, or the day you realized?"

**Dad**

_Be good, have fun. Mom will pick you up from Haneda tomorrow. Remember, you were going to tell me something... :) Call as soon as you can._

Jenrya attempts to tear at his hair. Failing this thanks to Terriermon, he resorts to tapping on his cast. "_That's_ what we forgot to do, Takato, we forgot to call our parents!"

"Oh yeah, we got in so late last night there wasn't time! Oh, nuts. _Kai, is there a pay phone?_"

"Is there ever!"

Jenrya looks up from his phone to see they've made Tokashiki Village. "...is it just me, or would this place fit comfortably in Shinjuku Central Park."

"It's not just you." chorus Takato, Terriermon, and Guilmon.

-

"Hi, Dad."

"_Jian! Are you alright? Mom was worried when you didn't call._"

"Yeah, we're fine. Sorry, there was a storm on the way to the island, so the ferry got in late and we got to Kai's house around ten, and that's with Takato and Guilmon flying us there. And Kai's house doesn't have cellphone reception, so I only just got your messages now."

"_Ah, I see. There was a storm?_"

"Takato got a bit seasick. Terriermon and I didn't."

"l heard that!"

"_Well done! Your first time on a boat, too. Okay, Mom wants the phone now, and then Shaochung wants to talk to Terriermon._"

"And not me? I feel so left out."

"_It's about _Sailor Moon."

"Point taken."

"_Take care, Jian._"

"Bye, Dad. Mom?"

"_Jenrya! Why didn't you call last night?_"

Jenrya sighs, and repeats the conversation.

-

"Jen, can I borrow a yen? Ha, that rhymes."

"Sure." Jenrya watches the younger boy feed the coin into the payphone and dial, he guesses, Juri's number.

He's right: "Hi Mr. Kato, may I speak to Juri please? Thank you."

"Ah, young love." Terriermon quips, passing Jenrya's cellphone back. "Man, I can't believe she didn't tape it for me!"

"Tape what?" asks Kai.

Terriermon struggles for a suitable lie, but Jenrya beats him to the truth, smirking. "_Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon_."

Kai laughs. "What about you, Jian? Same tastes?"

"Oh, hardly. _Gundam Wing_ mostly, a bit of _Dragon Ball_. A friend's trying to get me into _Kamen Rider_, but it's not working. _Digimon_," he adds as an afterthought.

"Ha, I watch that too." Kai smirks. "There's a rumor they're making a third season, with you guys in."

"We never signed off with Bandai for a TV series, just for the cards and toys," Jenrya replies. Maybe this is how Ryo feels, a media pro at all of fourteen. "Though our lawyers are in talks over a video game."

Takato's cousin whistles, impressed. "That's gotta be pretty righteous."

"Er," says Jenrya, the usage lost on him. "More like surreal. At least it's kind of died down now. I'm not getting bombarded by small children in the streets any more."

"Oh, nuts, I ran out of money." Takato mutters. His stomach rumbles loudly, serving as a reminder: "I'm starving!"

"We would have eaten sooner if not for you, you little chatterbox." Kai teases. "Come on, in here."

Takato looks at the proposed restaurant suspiciously. "Do they serve pig's feet, or pig's _ears_ here?"

"You eat Chinese food here?" Terriermon and Jenrya demand together.

"Yes, we do," Kai grins at them, then, turning to Takato, "no, they don't. A bit weird for Okinawa, but this place specializes in seafood. So they've got sushi for you mainlanders."

"Good." says Takato. "No more 'delicacies'!"

-

If there's one thing Jenrya hates doing with one hand, it's eating. He pokes indelicately at his fishcakes with a chopstick. "I dunno, I thought that mimigaa sounded good."

"Stop poking your yaeyama kamaboko," says Kai, "I'm sure Terriermon will be happy to eat it for you. We'll have mimigaa for dinner."

"Well, that's great, what am _I_ going to eat?" retorts Takato, appalled.

Guilmon beams. "I'll eat Takato's mimigaa!"

A girl comes in, eyes like the ocean. Jenrya watches Kai's eyes tracking her for a moment, then dropping back to his kuubuirichi. Takato notices too. "Was that...what's her name again?"

"Minami," Kai informs him. "Nah, that wasn't Nami. Looked like her, though."

"You wish it _was_ her," Jenrya guesses, noting the nickname.

Kai shrugs in answer. "We still hang out. She's helping me out with boogie boarding, I've gotten a lot better with her coaching."

"Is it love?" Terriermon ribs him.

The red in Kai's tanned cheeks and his lowered gaze say 'maybe'.

Interesting, thinks Jenrya. Aloud, he only says with a grin, "Geeze, am I the only one here without a girlfriend?"

There's a question in the look Kai shoots him, and Terriermon snickers. But his phone rings before he can spell it out, and he answers it without thinking, realizing too late that there's only one person he's set a Gackt ring tone for. "Hello?"

"_Jen! I couldn't reach you! Do you know how scary it is to ring and hear that you're _out of range_? I thought you said you were going to Okinawa, it's urbanized enough for cellphones there!_"

"I never said I was going to the mainland," Jenrya replies, smoothness belying his panic. "I'm on this little island, and Takato's cousin's house doesn't have reception, but there's reception in the village. I'm having a great time! Wanna talk to Takato?"

Without waiting for a response, he thrusts the phone at Takato, who immediately reads the desperation in his eyes. "Hey, Ryo! Okinawa's awesome! Wish you and Monodramon were here! Jen made a _fantastic_ and freakishly historically accurate sand castle this morning, if only you were here to take brilliant photos of the rock garden! And the caltrops, can't forget the caltrops! Yeah, Jen stuck little driftwood splinters into the mound the castle was built on, it was a little scary but it looked really good! Oh, hey, Guilmon wants to tell you all about the food here!"

Guilmon is so confused Jenrya has to laugh (if a little hysterically), but the child makes a valiant effort anyway. "We're eating fishcakes! Last time we were here we ate some yummy pig's ears and pig's feet but Takato doesn't like them."

Takato's cousin seizes the phone. "Wait, so _you're_ the famous Akiyama Ryo? Wow, I heard about you in the news but it never quite clicked that Takato knows you! How did a cool guy like you end up with an idiot like my cousin?"

"_Hey!_"

"I'm Kai, by the way, Maeda Kai, it's totally righteous to talk to you. Oh, you wanna talk to Jian? Okay."

Kai hands the phone back. Jenrya bats it away, so Terriermon grabs it. "Liao! That's your name in Chinese, isn't that cool? Yup, I'm taking good care of Jen, he's getting a bit of sand in his cast though, but I suppose that's the price you pay for a historically accurate sand shiro. No, it doesn't look like it, does it?" He whispers something. "Okay, I'll tell him that. Bye!"

Terriermon hangs up, and tosses the phone back to Jenrya, who puts it away like a loaded gun. Kai looks between them. "What was _that_ about?"

-

Later on, while Kai helps his grandfather with dinner (mimigaa on Jenrya's request), Takato and Jenrya sit on the beach, watching their Digimon play in the sea. "So, ah." Takato ventures. "What did Terriermon say Ryo wanted to tell you?"

Jenrya looks out into the ocean again. "Terriermon said _he_ said 'tell Jen I still love him'."

Pre-empting Takato's next question (he's guessing 'why didn't you want to talk to him'), he sighs. "I just... It's like you said, I wanted to get away from it this weekend, just go somewhere when every blessed place doesn't remind me of some time when we... But it didn't work, because we're surrounded by this _sea_, and, he said once, he likes the sea, he hates the city, and it's all _blue_ and, _his eyes_... So I thought if I could just go without hearing his voice or reading his words..."

Takato putting his arms around him is a pleasant surprise, but Jenrya is even more surprised when he hugs him back.


	7. One Sand Castle Doesn't Make a Summer

"Well, _finally_," grumbles Terriermon, when Jenrya emerges reluctantly from Shuri Castle, "we were beginning to think you'd never come out."

Lost for words, Jenrya starts to gesture wildly before remembering that what with the camera in one hand and a swath of souvenir shopping bags in the other, this could only end in disaster.

"I think what Jen's _trying_ to say is 'thank you'," Takato translates for his cousin.

A hint of a blush hits Kai's face. "Ah, any time, bro."

Guilmon suddenly sniffs the air. "I smell the shuttle."

Takato groans. "Don't do that, Guilmon; carbon monoxide is bad for you."

"Can we even _get_ carbon poisoning? I mean, we're _data_," points out Terriermon. At Kai and Takato's stares, he raises an eyebrow. "What, Jen makes me help him study."

"It's coming this way," Guilmon continues, regardless.

-

"Jian, come here a sec?"

Jenrya enters the airport bookstore curiously. Without warning, Kai grabs him by the cast and scrawls over a blank spot on it.

_**Hi Jian. I hope you had fun in Okinawa. You should come down again sometime, without a broken arm, so me and Nami can teach you how to boogieboard:P Hope you get all that sand out of your cast. Not much space left on here, is there?**_

_**Urazoe Kai**_

He puts the pen back on the shelf, then draws Jenrya close. "I guess this is goodbye, then."

"...I have a boyfriend." Jenrya informs him, not liking where this is going. "Jealous type. Big bloke. You wouldn't want to cross him."

Kai backs up, laughing. "Well, let me just say, on behalf of everyone in Japan who likes boys... _Damn_."

"I'm flattered," replies Jenrya, "but I thought you and Minami—"

Takato's cousin ignores him. "So what's his name, then?"

Jenrya gives up. "Ryo."

"As in Akiyama?" Kai's eyes widen. "No way. In the media, he just doesn't come off as..."

"Gay?" supplies Jenrya helpfully. "I think he prefers the term 'equal opportunity'."

"You guys must make one good-looking couple," Kai grins. "So why didn't you want to talk to him yesterday?"

"It's complicated," announces Terriermon, coming to the rescue from behind a manga. "Jen, can I buy this?"

"No," replies Jenrya, grateful for the diversion, "they'll wonder why a plushie's buying manga. _I'll_ get it for you. What series is it, anyway?"

"Er..." says Terriermon, hiding the book behind his back.

-

In business class once again, Takato buckles Guilmon's seatbelt. "One of these days, I'm going to hang a sign around Guilmon's neck that says, 'I helped save the world, let me through darnit'."

"Good thing I'm so small," Terriermon remarks over his book, "I can just be Jen's carry-on bag no matter what the airline."

"Yeah, and then I can't bring anything else on board." complains Jenrya. "And what happens when I'm older? I'm already getting weird looks; a fourteen-year-old boy carrying a plushie..."

Terriermon's eyes don't leave the page. "They must think you're gay."

"Hey, cheap shot," Jenrya objects.

With unusual tact, Guilmon attempts a distraction. "What are you reading, Terriermon?"

"A book."

Terriermon hurriedly folds his ears over it, but not before Takato spots the title and starts laughing. "_Sailor Moon_? _Serious_ly?"

"I had nothing to do with it," Jenrya remarks, all too smug.

The child goes on the defensive. "There's shoujo ai!"

Takato continues to cackle.

-

"There she is," says Terriermon, pointing over the crowds at Haneda Airport. "Mayumi!"

"Terriermon calls your parents by their first names?" Takato blinks.

Heedless of the public, Terriermon grabs Jenrya's souvenir bag and launches painfully off his head.

"_Terriermon!_" Jenrya yells, then sighs. "This_ is_ the Digimon who badmouthed a Sovereign to his face. What does Guilmon call _your_ parents?"

"I heard him talking to 'Takatomom' once," the younger boy offers.

Suddenly he envelops Jenrya in a hug. Pretty impressive, considering he's always been smaller than Jenrya, but still kind of awkward. "You've been spending too much time with Juri." Jenrya informs him. "Are we going to turn into a pair of girls who hug when they meet, when they say goodbye, and in the middle of the stairs?"

"Sorry," says Takato, releasing him. "It's just - I had a great time this weekend, I'm so glad you and Terriermon came to Okinawa with me."

Jenrya smiles. "Yeah, it was good fun. Thanks for inviting me."

"Thanks for _coming_," retorts Takato, "now I'm never going to get seasick ever again."

"Be one with the boat," Jenrya teases, and they share a laugh.

"If I don't see you for a while, have a good summer, okay?"

Jenrya quirks an eyebrow. "It's summer. We live in the same city. You're my best - human - friend. Why _wouldn't_ I get to see you?"

"You're right, I _have_ been spending too much time with Juri," Takato grins.

"Jenrya!"

"Coming, Mom!" Jenrya yells. "Okay, gotta go; you have a good summer too."

In the car, Terriermon keeps up a steady stream of chatter about the trip: Flying business class, the ferry, the beach, Okinawan cuisine, Shuri Castle...

"Mom," Jenrya interrupts him, "can I tell you something?"

-

"Takato, you were right."

"_About what?_"

"Not seeing me for a while."

"_Oh, nuts, I _hate_ it when I'm right! What happened?_"

"What do you _expect_ happened? I'm grounded. For the first time in my life, I might add."

"_What did you _do_? Al_rea_dy?_"

"It's more like _who_ did I _almost_ do. Sorry, that was crass; I've been around Terriermon too long."

"I heard that."

"I know. And get off my cellphone. Sorry, Takato. Um, I came out to Mom, and told her about Ryo, and she grounded me for lying about seeing him."

"_Ouch._"

"I dunno, I don't really blame her, I mean, maybe if we weren't sneaking around, we wouldn't have tried to hide the whole date thing by having a picnic up a tree, and then maybe I wouldn't have broken my arm. No, wait, what am I saying, it's Ryo, of _course_ we would have had a picnic up a tree."

"_Yeah, sorry to say, but Ryo's crazier than a catfish. How's your dad taking it?_"

"Actually, I came out to him right before we left for Okinawa, and he took it pretty well, and then managed to guess I was with Ryo. Oh, gods, at first he thought I was with _you_."

"_Ew, no way! Sorry, that came out badly..._"

"Let's just leave it at 'we're not each other's types', and besides: You and Juri, beautiful, would never want to break that up."

"_Thanks._"

"So anyway, after Mom freaked, I had to go give Dad all the sordid details. I'd promised I would once we were back from Okinawa, but it was still really...awkward. And of course since Ryo and I almost...you know, Dad decided it was a _great_ time to have the birds and the bees talk."

"_That must have been..._"

"Yeah. Only it obviously ended up being more of a bees and the bees talk, which was possibly even _more_ awkward."

"_Oh, god. _So_ glad I'm not going there._"

"Feel grateful you're straighter than a, as you would say, straight thing."

"_Oh yeah, I was saying that about Kenta, wasn't I? It's crazy!_"

"'kazu from memory, actually, but go on?"

"_He got a girlfriend type person!_"

"A _what_? Is that like Ruki?"

"_No, as in a person who might become his girlfriend!_"

"_What_? _Kenta_?"

"_Yeah, it's insane! He called right after I got home. He was at the card shop yesterday with Marine Angemon, and there was this girl, I think her name was Tomoyo or something, and she was like, 'oh, a Marine Angemon, what a cute plushie,' so he started mouthing off about how he's not really a plushie and of course Marine Angemon was all 'pipuu!' at her which she found totally adorable, and then she was like 'awwwww!' and Kenta started going on about how he's actually really strong and he was going to use some random card on him and they started talking about _cards_ and they're going to the park tomorrow!_"

"That's incredible! _Kenta_, of all people! Over Marine Angemon!"

"_I _know_! Geeze, Jen, _Kenta's_ getting a girlfriend before you._"

"That was low, Takato."

"_I know, sorry, only joking. So are you grounded for the whole vacation?_"

"Yeah. First time and it's for a month of vacation time, go figure."

"_That's really bad, I won't see you again until school starts. Unless I could come over? Maybe?_"

"Maybe! I think you'd be parentally sanctioned for a visit, seeing as we're not attracted to each other in any way, shape, or form. I'd give it a few days, though."

"_Yeah, good idea. Okay, Mom's telling me to get off the phone; I've been on ever since I got home, haven't even unpacked yet._"

"Takato, you _are_ turning into a girl!"

"_Shut up._"

"Okay. Talk to you later?"

"_Sure. Bye, Jen! Good luck with Ryo and stuff._"

"Thanks, I think I'll need it. Bye!"

-

"Hey, Dad?"

His father winces slightly. "Any more epiphanies for me tonight, Jianliang?"

"No!" Jenrya denies hurriedly. "No, just a random suggestion. Can we get Terriermon a cellphone?"

He blinks. "Um, why? It's not like Terriermon goes anywhere without you."

"Yeah, but..." Jenrya scratches his head. "I dunno, he's been sneaking around with my phone being all mysterious and he won't let me use it."

"I'm done," announces Terriermon, walking into the room and tossing Jenrya his cellphone. The Tamer catches it only by instinct. "Don't bother checking the in- and outboxes, I deleted everything."

"You'd better not be wasting my txts..." Jenrya warns.

"What about an e-mail address?" Dad suggests. "You could have your own e-mail address to yourself and then you wouldn't have to use Jianliang's phone."

Jenrya thinks about it. "He does go on my computer an awful lot. We could give him one of the spare ones from the ISP."

"I like this idea!" Terriermon declares. "Wow, an ISP-provided e-mail address, does this mean I'm part of the family now?"

Dad smiles, and scratches Terriermon behind the ears. "You were always part of the family."

-

**Subject: Hey!**

_Terriermon here! I just got my own e-mail address, so I can finally stop stealing Jen's phone! Great, huh? It does mean I'll have to hog his computer instead, so Jen will just have to momentai. Besides, we're doing this for him— _

"Who are you e-mailing, Terriermon?"

The child flattens his ears against the screen but continues typing. "No one."

"Riiiiight." Jenrya goes back to his Game Boy Advance, but looks back with an afterthought. "What's your username, anyway?"

"Lee dot Terriermon." Terriermon grins. "I wanted 'rapid dot twister' but your dad convinced me to go for a family one."

Jenrya breaks into a smile, and goes to give his father a hug without a word.


	8. June, They Want to See Us Together

Jenrya can't believe his nine-year-old sister is beating him in Digimon.

"Where'd you _get_ that card?"

"Ryo," Shuichon replies, singsong, and, really, this is as good a time as any.

"Ummm, Shuichon, about Ryo."

She draws a card. "Yes?"

Jenrya glances over his hand. "Last time I checked, he's my boyfriend."

"Well, duh."

He looks up. "What?"

"He's a boy, and he's your friend."

One-handed, Jenrya tears at his hair. "No, Shuichon; Ryo's a really, _really_ good friend."

"I thought Takato was your best friend," Shuichon replies, confused, "who's a boy, not a Digimon."

Time to try a different tactic, Jenrya decides. "Okay, you know Shigeru?"

"Jaarin's boyfriend!" beams Shuichon. "He's a boy and he's Jaarin's really really good friend."

"Er, yeah. Do you remember how he and Jaarin are always holding hands everywhere, and kissing at the doorway and stuff?"

"Yes."

Jenrya wonders if this was a good idea. "That's because Shigeru's Jaarin's boyfriend, so they do all that kissy stuff. I do that with Ryo, because Ryo's my boyfriend."

Shuichon's brow furrows. "But Takato's a boy, and he's your friend, and you don't hold hands with Takato."

Right, thinks Jenrya, the general approach. "Okay, forget about Shigeru. Mom and Dad are married, right? So that means they're going to spend the rest of their lives together. Well, I want to spend my life with another boy, not a girl."

It looks like Shuichon's thinking about it. Then, finally: "Jen," she smiles, "you could have just _said_ you're gay."

"I—_what_?"

She giggles. "Sailor Haruka and Sailor Michiru on _Sailor Moon_ are both girls and they kiss and hold hands, and I asked Daddy why, because Haruka isn't a boy, and he said they were lesbians, so I asked if boys do that too and he said yes, if they're gay."

"Thank you, _Sailor Moon_," Jenrya says to the ceiling.

-

"Terriermon, who _are_ you e-mailing?"

"No one!"

-

Jenrya hardly ever goes into Jaarin's room, so he knocks before entering, and is careful not to look at the sketches littering the floor. "Hey, Jaarin?"

She removes her headphones. "Yeah?"

"Can I tell you something?"

"Sure. Have a seat." Jenrya does so. "Having problems with girls?"

"I guess you could call it that," muses Jenrya. "Actually, I'm gay."

Her eyebrows shoot up. "Oh, no; did my doujinshi give you ideas?"

"I don't read it," he replies with a shudder. "And, um, I've got a boyfriend."

Jaarin grins. "Ryo, right?"

"What?!"

His sister snickers. "'I'm going to a movie with Ryo; coincidentally, _no one else_ could come.' Sounds like me and Satoshi."

"Well, yeah, I did get a few excuses from you from over the years." Jenrya allows.

"I taught you well," Jaarin says, ruffling his hair.

-

"Terriermon..."

"I'm e-mailing _Lopmon_."

"You could just go and _talk_ to him."

"But this is so much more fun! And besides, now Lopmon's family too. Lee dot Lopmon."

-

This could go a lot worse. "Um, Rinchei."

His older brother looks up from some basketball tournament on the TV. "What is it?"

Jenrya sits beside him on the couch. "Er."

"Uh-oh," quips Rinchei, "this sounds serious."

"It is, a bit," Jenrya admits.

Rinchei sighs. "Spit it out, then. You have to go off and save the world again? You're failing Japanese? You lost your virginity in Okinawa? You're gay?"

"Um, that last one," says Jenrya, embarrassed.

"Fag," Rinchei replies, but there's no _real_ heat in it. "Can I have those magazines back, then?"

Jenrya blushes. "_Sure_."

-

"I _swear_ Terriermon's plotting something! He keeps looking in the fridge."

"_Are you sure he's not just hungry?_"

"But he keeps checking on the milk!"

"_Thirsty, then? Craving calcium?_"

"He's lactose intolerant!"

"_You're right, that _is_ suspicious._"

"Oh, stop laughing, Takato. And he just got his own e-mail address—"

"_What is it? I'll add him._"

"Like mine but Terriermon instead of Jenrya. So now he spends _half_ his time on the computer—"

"_Maybe he made an e-mail buddy. Really, Jen, you don't have to be so paranoid._"

-

Now that he's passed that stage of puberty, there is only one thing that can make Jenrya scream like a girl.

"_We're out of milk!_"

"How sad for you," smirks Terriermon.

"This isn't funny!" Jenrya snaps. "Mom, I know I'm grounded, but can I _please_ go out and buy another bottle? I won't tell any friends I'm going, I won't talk to anyone, even the check out chick—"

"He won't pass Go, he won't collect two thousand yen—"

"Terriermon!" Jenrya yells.

"I'll go with him to make sure he doesn't break his parole," offers Jaarin, and Jenrya _thinks_ he sees a smirk pass between his sister and his partner, but it's gone before he can check. "Come on, Mom, it's been two weeks and I haven't heard him complain, let him out for good behavior."

"I _knew_ it was a bad idea for Jaarin to study law," Rinchei remarks.

Their mother studies Jenrya's face, then relents. "Alright, you can go."

"Good on you, Mayumi," beams Terriermon, as she counts out money for him. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be in our room."

-

"Terriermon's been spending more time on my computer than _I_ have," Jenrya sighs, with a longing look at his bike. Despite Terriermon's generous offer to balance him out by riding on his shoulder, Mom won't let him ride it until the cast comes off in August.

"Yeah, sorry about that, I kind of gave him a link to a few websites – chatrooms, fanfiction, that sort of thing," grins Jaarin, but the glint in her eye doesn't exactly say 'I got my baby brother's Digimon addicted to the Internet'.

"Fanfiction? You'll warp his mind."

"Says the gay boy," Jaarin points out, and Jenrya rolls his eyes. "Seriously, though; I never would have thought _you'd_ have a boyfriend before Shuichon."

Unconsciously, Jenrya traces over his cast. "Believe me, neither did I."

Jaarin tilts her head to the side. "What's _with_ Ryo, anyway? I keep seeing his name in my magazines with, what's her name, Ruki."

Jenrya taps on his cast.

"Is he _playing_ you?" Jaarin gasps. "That _bastard_, I'll go down to Kitakyushu and—"

"No!" Jenrya yelps. "No, it's just that someone took photos of him and Ruki when they were hanging out once, and those ended up in the tabloids, so I was all, what the hell, Ryo, but he was like, would it be such a bad idea for your _mom_ to think I'm going out with her—"

"Fake girlfriend?" his sister summarizes.

"Exactly."

Jaarin whistles. "God, no _wonder_ Mom grounded you."

"Thanks a lot." Jenrya retorts. "The thing is, Ruki's in _love_ with him, which I never would have thought would be possible, but she _is_, apparently. So we had this massive fight a few weeks before Okinawa where she basically screamed at me that I didn't deserve him because he loves me and I'm not doing anything about it."

He'd never realized how good it would feel to finally get it off his chest. For the first time in _years_, Jaarin hugs him. "I was wondering what the heart around your name on your cast was about. I was thinking: Surely he's not that vain." Jenrya chuckles. "Do _you_ love _him_?"

"Ye— _what_?"

Jenrya squints at the window of the convenience store, still a couple of blocks away. Is that _really_...?

He sprints the last two blocks to the store, and Ryo lifts his sunglasses and gives him a wave. "Hey. You got out for good behavior?"

Jenrya gapes unattractively.

"You look familiar," says Jaarin, coming up behind him at a more sedate pace, "but I just can't place the name. Jenrya, if you could introduce us?"

This is a blatant lie, but it puts Jenrya's brain on autopilot. "Ryo, this is my sister, Jaarin; Jaarin, this is Ryo, my..."

"His boyfriend," Ryo supplies helpfully, then he glances at Jenrya, eyes hinting at hope. "If you'll still have me?"

"I'll give you a moment," Jaarin murmurs, pick pocketing the money from Jenrya and disappearing into the store.

Jenrya's mind has never been good at dealing with emotional issues on the spot. Instead, he focuses on the practical: "Why are you here?"

Ryo shrugs. "I missed you. I haven't seen you since...ages ago, I _think_ that last sleepover, and you haven't been returning my...anything, actually."

Next problem. "_How_?"

The older boy smirks. "Terriermon's been keeping an eye on the milk."

"Matsuda Takato, I was _right_!" Jenrya informs the sky.

"I'm not going to ask," says Ryo delicately. "How was Okinawa?"

"It was good," replies Jenrya, reverting to a default vacation answer. But that's lame. "You'd like it. Tokashiki, I mean. It was this little island, and on the beach there weren't many people around and the whole place was surrounded by the sea, and, you'd like it."

"You said that, yes," Ryo smiles. "What was Takato saying about a sand castle?"

"Well, I didn't feel like swimming, so I made a sand castle. And I was bored, so I made it a shiro."

Ryo shakes his head. "You're weird."

"I know, but..." Jenrya's mind suddenly flicks onto another part of the Okinawan vacation. "Takato's cousin was _hitting on me_."

"Oh no he _didn't_," gasps Ryo, but there's something hard in his eyes like the moment before he slashes a card.

"He just kept _looking_ at me, like _you_ used to in the digital world," Jenrya continues. "And then he tried to kiss me at the airport—"

The blue of Ryo's eyes sets into steel, and Jenrya thinks he's only half-joking: "Get me on a flight to Okinawa and I will kill him."

"So I told him I had a boyfriend and he just went _damn_, and said we must make a good-looking couple."

"Well, we do," Ryo admits modestly.

They fall into silence.

"I told my parents about you," Jenrya blurts out eventually. "And I came out to my siblings."

"That explains why Jaarin didn't react much when I said I was your boyfriend," Ryo reflects. "How did they take it?"

"Dad seemed fine with it, apart from the awkward talk on the bees and the bees," Jenrya notes the faint guilt in Ryo's face with amusement, "Mom grounded me which I'm sure Terriermon's told you all about, Shuichon grasped the concept purely because of _Sailor Moon_," Ryo snorts at that, "Jaarin's supportive, Rinchei...I don't know what he thinks of it, actually; he called me a fag and asked for his porn back but it didn't seem particularly mean."

"That's good," replies Ryo, smiling.

Silence again. Jenrya looks at the pavement.

"I 'dumped' Ruki."

"Really," Jenrya gets out, blinking.

"Yeah. You were right, she _does_ love me, and it's not fair to lead her on when I'm in love with someone else." Ryo shifts a foot, one of his only signs of awkwardness. "And besides, the look on her face. It _wasn't_ worth you."

"Oh," says Jenrya, and he _never_ instigates affection between them, but now he finds himself reaching up to touch Ryo's hair, and they're in front of a convenience store but he kisses him anyway.

Someone wolf whistles. It's probably Jaarin. When they reluctantly move apart, Jenrya spots her waving from inside the store. "Oh, god."

"Shhh," grins Ryo, hands persistent on his shoulder, on his cast. "When are you un-grounded?"

Somehow Jenrya can't keep his hands off Ryo either. "When school starts."

"First weekend of school," Ryo promises. "I'll come up again."

"I'll talk Mom around," puts in Jaarin, reappearing with the milk. "Jenrya, I won't tell her about this. There was a long queue at the store, that was all."

Ryo claps a hand on her shoulder. "You're a good man, Lee."

"I try," Jaarin giggles, suddenly flustered.

"Hands off," Jenrya warns, "he's four years younger than you."

"Older boys, huh, Jenrya?" Jaarin smirks. "Ryo, nice meeting you, Jenrya _will_ see you again, I swear. C'mon, Jenrya."

Jenrya can't resist one more kiss before waving and walking off, wildly trying to stay calm.

"Wait!" calls Ryo. "_Lee Jaarin? _The doujinshi writer?"

Jaarin lets out a scream. "I'm famous! I'm famous with my baby brother's boyfriend!"

"My boyfriend reads my older sister's shonen ai doujinshi," Jenrya informs the sky, mortified.


End file.
